AGR has used its innovative software to help mine 50 years of North Sea exploration data, as part of a Data Challenge set by Common Data Access (CDA).

CDA is a subsidiary of Oil & Gas UK which was established to facilitate the sharing of well and seismic data by the oil and gas industry.

AGR Software was one of nine companies given bulk access to released data stored in CDA’s UKOilandGasData repository, to enable them to demonstrate and validate their data science capabilities.

The Unstructured Data Challenge was launched earlier this year with the aim of proving that modern data and information analytics tools can offer valuable insights in the search for hydrocarbons.

The participating companies were asked to analyze documents, images, and other unstructured data arising from a half century of UKCS exploration activity. Using this data they were able to showcase how offshore wells could be planned at a lower cost, drilling risk could be reduced and exploration could be made more cost-effective.

Our Software team along with the other participating companies will reveal their full findings in detail at a workshop on Wednesday 30 November at the Village Hotel in Aberdeen.

Delegates at the workshop will learn more about the value of data science in the subsurface and have opportunity to share their thoughts on how this could be maximised going forward.

Petter Mathisen, AGR’s Vice President of Software Solutions, said: “In the current climate there’s a clear need for companies to improve operational efficiencies across the board. The Unstructured Data Challenge has highlighted that modern data and analytical techniques – such as those created and delivered by AGR – play an essential role in offering valuable insight in the search for hydrocarbons.

“Our findings show we are able to extract sections from the unstructured data which could be used to create context and clarity by combining it with the structured data. Even though it is possible to detect anomalies in the structured data, the unstructured data hold the key to finding ways to mitigate the risk or maximize opportunities, and separate noise from information.

“By challenging us to define uses for unstructured data, CDA has allowed us to think more creatively about what value we can extract and create by combining data in new ways. It is inspiring to see that a noted organization like CDA is working together with the industry to create opportunities and challenge the way we work.

“We are proud to have been one of only a few companies chosen to take part in the challenge and hope that lessons can be learned from the results which allow us to work in more efficient ways going forward.”